Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) since 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has recognised International Mother Language Day (MILD) on 21 February;

(b) on 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States 'to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world';

(c) MILD has been observed every year since its inception to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism; and

(d) 21 February represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla (as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan), were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh;

(2) recognises:

(a) the importance of languages and their benefits in the broader Australian community;

(b) that languages are the most powerful instruments for preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage; and

(c) that all moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue;

(3) acknowledges and commends the Speak Greek in March campaign;

(4) acknowledges that the Speak Greek in March campaign aims to encourage the greater use of the Greek language at home, in the month of March; and

(5) in collaboration with relevant organisations of the Greek community, undertakes a campaign to establish March as the month during which individuals and organisations endeavour to conduct most of their communications at home and in public in the Greek language.

My motion acknowledges UNESCO's recognition of 21 February as International Mother Language Day. On 16 May 2007, the United Nations general assembly resolved to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world. Since then, International Mother Language Day has been marked with a wide range of activities that promote linguistic and cultural diversity. Happily, we are seeing an increase of such activities here in Australia.

Language is much more than an instrument for communication. It is also the main carrier for one's inheritance and the core source for ethnic and cultural identity. Our multilingual world would be better appreciated if we all had a greater understanding of our linguistic and cultural traditions. According to the 2011 census, there are about 418 languages spoken in Australia today. At least 151 of those languages are spoken in my electorate of Calwell. Other than English, the dominant languages are Turkish, Arabic, Italian, Greek, Maltese, Senegalese, Tamil, Maori, Aramaic and Bhutanese, just to name a few. Of course, the language of the Wurundjeripeople is often heard during our local welcome to country ceremonies.

The importance of recognising International Mother Language Day is to remind us here in Australia of the enormous multilingual capacity we have and our duty to preserve it. It is also an affirmation of the right of people to speak their mother tongue free of persecution. Nowhere is this more vital than in our Indigenous languages, the mother tongues of our first people. Sadly, we find ourselves in a dire predicament where we are lamenting the decline of our Indigenous languages as they are increasingly becoming extinct.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data from 2009 and 2010, Indigenous language endangerment in Australia is illustrated by the decline in Indigenous language speakers across all age groups. At the 1996 census, 12.5 per cent of Indigenous Australians were Indigenous language speakers. This had declined to 11.3 per cent by the year 2011.

Worldwide, it is estimated that more than half of the 6,000 languages spoken will be replaced by the dominant languages. This means that some 3,000 languages will no longer be spoken by the end of the 21st century and that all their cultural, ethnic and ecological heritage, unique to their speakers, will be lost. In Australia we are fortunate to have a rich cultural diversity of languages that are assets to our increasingly global community; however, we must not be complacent. Rather, we should do what we can to maintain, service and support our languages as national cultural assets.

For this reason I would like to commend the Speak Greek in March campaign, which is currently seeing a range of activities taking place and was launched on Saturday, 21 February in Melbourne. The campaign aims to encourage the greater use of the Greek language amongst Greek-speaking and non-Greek-speaking Australians, and to promote the Greek language as one of the world's richest languages and an ongoing source for the development of our modern languages.

Former general manager of SBS Radio Mr Mike Zafiropoulos came up with this concept as a way of encouraging his own children, who are third-generation Greek-Australians, to actually use the Greek language. Mike realised as a bilingual parent of a couple of school-age kids, as he has said, that more needed to be done to encourage speaking Greek amongst the younger generations. Mr Zafiropoulos believes that such a campaign could help arrest some of the worrying trends in the use of Greek within families, where speaking Greek is on the decline.

The campaign has attracted the attention of a broad number of organisations, including the Victorian education department, but in particular the celebrities of Greek-Australian extraction who have thrown their full support behind the campaign. Journalist and broadcaster Helen Kapalos said that, after her mother passed away some 20 years ago, she lost her confident grasp of the Greek language, and that it was only with age that she realised and appreciated the cultural strength contained in the words gifted to her by her ancestors.

I would also like to quote celebrity chef Mr George Calombaris, who has served up his own trademark enthusiasm for all things of Greek extraction, and who said:

Jeez, I love Australia … what we're all about … I'm proud of all the Greeks that came here and put their stamp on this wonderful place …

Finally, I would like to encourage similar campaigns to be undertaken by other community languages in Australia, akin to that of the Speak Greek in March campaign.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I have a seconder for the motion?

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to speak on this motion about the importance of the Greek language and indeed the broader Greek culture and community. My electorate of Banks has a very substantial Greek-Australian population which is justifiably proud of the remarkable history of Greece and the extraordinary depth of its culture. Of course the Greek culture, dating back thousands of years as it does, has an extraordinary list of achievements in terms of the areas of Western democracy as we know it today, trial by jury and so many other areas. Greek society has pioneered in fields such as mathematics, philosophy, poetry and a number of important forms that we take for granted today like satire, tragedy and a range of other areas. The modern Olympics are, of course, drawn from the ancient Olympics.

In my electorate of Banks, about six per cent of residents have Greek ancestry and about five per cent of residents speak Greek at home. This motion is very relevant to that substantial group in my community. There are parts of my electorate with a larger Greek population. For instance, in the suburb of Blakehurst, according to the ABS, about 13 per cent of people speak Greek at home, and in Connells Point it is about 12 per cent. It is a very proud community in my electorate.

Last week I visited the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW head office in Lakemba and discussed a range of things. One of the interesting aspects of that organisation is that they operate four Greek language schools in my electorate—at Connells Point Public School, Danebank school in Hurstville, Peakhurst Public School and Bald Face Public School in Blakehurst. These are important institutions which provide opportunities for our local families to ensure that their kids grow up being able to speak Greek as fluently as their parents and grandparents are able to.

The Greek Orthodox Community of NSW organisation runs a number of other very important events—for example, the Greek Festival of Sydney, which every year attracts up to 50,000 people. A number of different activities make up the festival. There is a museum presentation going back to the First World War and looking at Lemnos in 1915 and contrasting it with a century later. There is a big celebratory dinner at Brighton-Le-Sands coming up later in March, and various other activities. The Greek Orthodox Community of NSW is an extremely important organisation in our community. In addition to running those important language courses it also runs seniors groups and childcare centres.

I also want to acknowledge the contribution to the local Greek community of the Kogarah Greek Orthodox Church, where Father Konidaris is the parish priest. Parliament has a connection to that church, as my colleague the member for Barton is its parish president. One of the important initiatives of the church has been to run the annual Being Greek Festival, which is held at Carss Park each year. I went along in 2013—I was away last year unfortunately and could not attend—and it was very well hosted by Ada Nicodemou from Home and Away. There were literally tens of thousands of people at Carss Park. It was a really fantastic celebration of Greek culture and of everything that the Greek community contributes to the St George region.

I commend the motion. Maintaining cultural heritage is so important not only in the Greek community but in communities right across our nation. I commend the Greek-Australian community in Banks on everything it does for our area.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calwell for bringing such a comprehensive motion to the House on such an important matter, which is recognised not only in this place but in our local communities and in global fora. The origins of Mother Language Day are both deeply saddening but also uplifting. They are sad because of the lives lost—born out of a right to speak a language. It is from this that the global movement of recognition stirred for decades before being declared by UNESCO as International Mother Language Day on 21 February.

This has a special meaning for Bangladesh, its people and its diaspora. It is inherently entwined with its independence movement. At a time when more than half the population of East Pakistan spoke Bangla not Urdu, in 1948 Urdu was declared to be the sole state language. This was despite the fact that Bangla had survived hundreds of years of foreign invasions. I want to draw from Ekushey, one of many Bangla-devoted online resources. Ekushey means 21. When this word is spoken, for Bangladeshis it is widely known to refer to 21 February. Ekushey states:

The students of Dhaka University spontaneously opposed—

that is, opposed the sole designation of Urdu—

and the Language Movement was born. Students, politicians and intelligentsia banded together in a move to implement Bangla as a second official language, alongside Urdu, and the state language of East Pakistan.

…   …   …

Early in February 1952, student leaders decided that 21st February would be celebrated as State Language Day. Peaceful strikes and processions were scheduled across the state …

This included a peaceful procession on the morning of the 21st:

As soon as the procession left the premises of Dhaka University campus and spilled into main streets, police opened fire, and consequently, unarmed students died and many were injured.

The already-disenchanted Bengalis were alarmed and angered by this action, and became increasingly agitated. Seeing this, the government made the gesture of instating Bangla as the state language of East Pakistan and a second state language with Urdu, in April of that year. The gesture came far too late, for the agitation for recognition was sweeping the vast state. It slowly morphed into a desire for self governance, recognition, respect that, after nineteen years of strife and tension, eventually evolved into a movement for independence, culminating in the nine month long War of Independence that gave birth to Bangladesh in 1971.

It is this line in particular that I want to quote:

In the world's history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to hang onto their right to speak their Mother Tongue.

I pay tribute to the Bangladeshi people and their language. They are an integral part of our multicultural society. I have had the pleasure of a long association with many constituents of Bangladeshi descent, and I have a particular admiration for their struggle for independence: I have mentioned Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or Bangabandhu, in this place. He is one of the great leaders of modern times.

I refer to the UNESCO 2015 theme: 'Inclusion in and through education: Language counts'. More than ever, this highlights what still remains a burning issue for equality through education for the world's citizens. UNESCO notes that education for all goals are far from attained, due in part to the difficulties of reaching the worst-off segments of the population, the debate around language and education becomes more central.' It goes on:

Linguistic minorities are often among the most marginalised populations, with little or poor access to quality education. When they do have access to education, learners from these communities are often either excluded from opportunities to pursue their educational career beyond primary or pushed out of education because the language of instruction is not their own.

It should remain a key goal of Australians to ensure that those educational opportunities are afforded to all, irrespective of one's mother language. I will be celebrating Harmony Day in conjunction with International Mother Language Day. It is important to draw attention to the fact that many local communities, including the Burmese Friendship Association and also Bangla Academy Australia, have initiated many community events to draw attention to this issue.

I want to end by citing a less well-known language, and that is the language of Rotuma. Those of you who know my story know I have Fijian heritage, and my father learnt how to speak Rotuman fluently. Rotuma is a very small remote island of only around 13 by four kilometres. The statistics I have researched show that there are probably only about 2,000 Rotumans still living on Rotuma—though there are probably many more on the mainland. It was a language that my father learnt fluently and I hope that it remains alive, even as more and more Rotumans take up residence outside of Rotuma. Mr Deputy Speaker, I end with 'Faiaksia hanisit', which in Rotuman means thank you for your kindness. I thank the House.

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to celebrate the recently designated International Mother Language Day. Languages are a key to culture, and without your home language, or your mother language, you cannot be fully functional in a particular culture. We recognise that Australia is multicultural. We are multilingual, we are multicultural, we have religious diversity and the Australian government is committed to maintaining and building a prosperous and cohesive multicultural Australia. I am very pleased that one of the pilots of a new program to teach different languages is going to occur at the Arthur Dickmann childcare and preschool centre in Shepparton. This will be an attempt to teach children from a very young age—the age of four—second and even third languages or to polish up on their home languages through specially developed IT software packages. I commend that initiative of this government.

In particular I want to focus on the loss of Australia's Indigenous languages. That is a tragedy because, as I said before, language is an integral part of a culture, but in Australia there is severe discrimination and disadvantage when it comes to Indigenous people, particularly from rural and remote parts of Australia, trying to be best represented in courts, where the language spoken is not their home language, or perhaps when they are presenting for medical treatments or are trying to gain employment or even attempting something as fundamental as getting a drivers licence, without being able to speak English properly or perhaps speaking a Kriol which is not known beyond a very small population or community. These individuals are being disadvantaged in not being able to access the opportunities that other Australians take for granted.

I am very pleased to have been part of a special study of language learning in Indigenous communities in Australia. The study was part of an inquiry into language learning in Indigenous communities by the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, which I now chair. The report from the inquiry was called Our land, our languages. Amongst the recommendations made in the report, now several years old, was one that said it should be mandatory that every teacher who has Indigenous Australians in their classroom, particularly in rural and remote areas, be trained in teaching English as a second language. No child in Australia who attends school speaking a mother language should be discriminated against by being forced to learn from their very first day in a language other than their own. The inquiry recommended also that there be literacy and numeracy alternatives as an assessment tool. The difficulty experienced by children learning English as an additional language or dialect when sitting for the standardised NAPLAN tests should be understood. We recommended that the minister for education that work with COAG to develop this national assessment program, which would reflect the different languages spoken by students across Australia.

We also wanted to make sure that we have protocols for mandatory first-language assessment of Aboriginal and Islander children entering into early childhood education. Too often during the inquiry we found that a preschool teacher suspected that amongst her new flock of bright eyed little boys and girls were many who did not speak English. But they had no idea, and there was no assessment process available to them to find out, just what language the children spoke and how they could best facilitate the children's learning, perhaps using native speakers. We also recommended very strongly a national Indigenous languages policy that would include qualifying Indigenous language speakers to work in schools, particularly with the youngest members of the school population. We wanted to see such people trained to be not only teachers' assistants but fully qualified teachers who could use their home language skills throughout the classroom both to ensure that Indigenous students were not disadvantaged and that non-Indigenous students could also learn Indigenous languages as part of their Australian heritage and learning experience.

I endorse this motion. I think it is of critical importance. We should make sure that Australia, which is rich in cultural and linguistic diversity, is not left behind when it comes to having adequate protocols and efforts to maintain those languages.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calwell for bringing to us this important motion that highlights the significance of multiculturalism and linguistic diversity in our society. As most in this place know, as the member for Fowler I have the privilege of representing one of the most multicultural electorates in the whole of Australia. Located in south-west Sydney, my electorate boasts migrants from every corner of the globe. I know that I have the opportunity and privilege to represent many different ethnic groups, but I am conscious of the fact that I am dealing with people of over 150 nationalities, who speak a language other than English at home. That is pretty significant in a modern society and is why I believe that International Mother Language Day is an important celebration. It is a day that allows us to recognise different languages and heritages that make up the face of modern Australia.

Celebrated on 21 February, International Mother Language Day was first formally recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in November 1999 as a day on which to encourage speakers of other languages to speak their mother tongue and be proud of it. The importance of preserving linguistic diversity was also recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, when it encouraged member states to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.

However, what people may not know is that behind this very culturally important day lies a very tragic event in Bangladesh. It was a day that actually gave rise to this celebration that we have today. It was about the struggles of the people of Bangladesh for cultural, linguistic and ethnic freedom. On 21 February 1952 a group of students in Bangladesh were shot and killed while demonstrating for their right to speak their mother tongue, Bangla. This language movement was the key inspiration for Bangladeshis to achieve their independence, which they did in 1971. It also became the very foundation for International Mother Language Day. Today, 21 February is not only observed as a public holiday in Bangladesh to commemorate the historic language movement; it is also recognised worldwide for its significance, as a day on which we celebrate culture and heritage.

I would like to thank the Bangladeshi Australian community who have been very much in the forefront in taking the initiative for the walk each year in Canberra which brings people together from all different backgrounds in an effort to recognise the value of language in cultural diversity. In Australia, our cultural vibrancy and our linguistic diversity is something that we should be extremely proud of—and I know that we in south-west Sydney are proud of it. Not only has it allowed the broader Australian community to develop a better understanding of the different cultural heritages that make up Australia, but also it fosters harmony and mutual respect amongst different ethnic communities.

Language is the foundation of our communication. In a cultural context, an individual's mother language is important to customs and traditions. It is the link between the past and the present in understanding heritage. But it is also very significant in developing that very important sense of identity. It is truly one of the most basic values that a person can have.

Sadly, due to the process of globalisation, I presume, mother languages are slowly disappearing, and many are also becoming, to an extent, endangered. And when language fades, so does the rich tapestry of cultural diversity, traditions and memories. Therefore, as citizens of modern, multicultural Australia, I believe that we have a role to play in supporting the preservation of mother languages and in encouraging the intercultural dialogue that it promotes.

Once again, I congratulate the member for Calwell in bringing this matter before the House. She has been at the forefront of these matters in the past and obviously will continue to be so in the future.

Debate adjourned.